


No "Small" Talk

by Azure_Umbra



Category: Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Brief excerpt, Episode 17: Small, Father-Son Relationship, Sins of the Father, but just by a little bit, mention of parental neglect
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2019-10-17
Packaged: 2020-12-20 22:35:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21064307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Azure_Umbra/pseuds/Azure_Umbra
Summary: This is a snippet meant as an alternate approach to the talk between Mao Mao and his dad in the episode “Small”. You can decide if it either takes place before or after the monster battle. Regardless, this piece is meant to get emotionally closer to the point of the ordeal, the real heart of the matter.





	No "Small" Talk

_Excerpt begins:_

“Come on, son," **Shin Mao** attempted to, or at least sound like he was being reasonable, "I just didn’t want you to embarrass yourself.”

“Embarrass myself?" **Mao Mao** scoffed. "Is this coming from my great and mighty heroic dad? The guy who couldn’t tell his son from his daughters? The dad who couldn’t give one kid a real proper name, let alone say it right? The dad who’s always ignoring every bit of his kid’s hard work at every available moment?”

“Now son, you have to understand. Working as a hero isn’t easy, you know?" said Shin Mao. "There’s a lot of time and energy that goes into maintaining yourself and everyone else you’re responsible for. You need to have what it takes.”

“Oh, so I don’t have what it takes? Was it really that hard for you? Weren’t you responsible for me too?” Mao Mao's voice began sounding a little louder.

“What’s your issue, Mi-Mu?”

“My issue is that for all the times you didn’t bother to have an actual relationship," Mao Mao gradually raised his voice some more, a finger raised and more apparently pointing right at his father's face, "you had the nerve, the arrogance, to point out everything wrong with me! You’re worried that I’ll embarrass myself? You know, when you’re not around, I actually kinda like being myself. I think you’re more worried that I’ll embarrass you!”

“Alright, alright." Shin Mao backed off a little bit, raising his hands defensively. "So I’m not the perfect father. Who is?”

“Oh, not only are you not the perfect father, you’re the furthest thing from it," came a scoff from Mao Mao. But his demeanor immediately changed, his face switching to an expression of sadness and exhaustion. "From the moment I was born, I had to trust you. I had no choice. I needed you to protect me and guide me through the hard, confusing, and vulnerable journey to becoming not just a hero, but a person." At that point, Mao Mao's tone became stressed. "You never did that at all! You’re my dad, and you took a child’s trust and broke it apart on a years-long mission to get rid of something you abandoned a long time ago. And honestly, when Mom told me you were coming to see me, I wasn’t sure if I ever wanted to see you again!”

_Excerpt end_


End file.
